Which to use
“abgeben” and “abgehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,556
- “abgeben” frequency rank
- #20,481
- “abgehen” frequency rank
- 24037
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abgeben | abgehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem etwas geben, der es haben soll oder verlangt | eine bestimmte Stelle, Ort verlassen, weggehen |
Where the eye mixes abgeben and abgehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. abgeben and abgehen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between abgeben and abgehen
A purely visual mix-up. abgeben ([ˈapˌɡeːbn̩]) and abgehen ([ˈapˌɡeːən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - b in “abgeben” becomes h in “abgehen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24037, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abgeben is recorded at frequency rank #3,556, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌɡeːbn̩]. abgehen is at rank #20,481, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌɡeːən].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 24037, this pair ranks #1,853,194 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abgeben vs abgehen
Shared letters: abegn. Private to "abgeben": -. Private to "abgehen": h.
"abgeben" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "abgehen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "abgeben" and "abgehen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "abgeben" or "abgehen"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "abgeben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abgehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,853,194 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abgeben" and "abgehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abdrehen vs abgehen". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,853,194 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.